Portable knee exerciser and method of operation

ABSTRACT

A knee exerciser is a U-shaped support with a base and two sides to support a cross member having a rotatable outer surface at an elevated position relative to a supporting surface. The sides have a plurality of openings that correspond to one another so that the cross members can be inserted into two corresponding openings to vary the height of the cross member relative to the supporting surface. The cross member has a core with a rotatable plastic sleeve located thereon. In a method of operation, a user rests a back of the knee on the outer surface and flexes the knee through a range of movement. There are stabilizers along each side to maintain the exerciser in an upright position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to a knee exerciser and, more particularly, to a knee exerciser that is portable and can be used by a user while lying on a bed or other supporting surface.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Knee exercisers are known but previous exercisers are too bulky, too heavy, too expensive, too complex, too difficult to control or non-portable. Electrically operated knee exercisers are known, but they can be difficult to operate or control to provide a safe exercise to the user. Sometimes, electrically powered knee exercisers provide movement that is too rigorous or too fast for the current physical state of the user's knee and the exercisers cause further injury or do not improve the knee of the user. Knee exercisers are often used by a user following knee surgery and often the user is an elderly person.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a knee exerciser that is light weight, portable, yet stable enough to provide a safe and effective exercise to the knee of a user. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a knee exerciser that is not electrically operated and operates manually. It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a knee exerciser that is operated manually by a user and a speed of movement of the exerciser is controlled by the speed of movement of the user.

An exerciser for exercising a knee of a user while the user is on a supporting surface comprises a cross member having a rotatable outer surface. The cross member is located in an elevated position relative to the supporting surface. The user rests a back area of the knee of the user on the outer surface and flexes the knee through a range of movement. The exerciser is portable and has stabilizers thereon to maintain the exerciser in an upright position.

Preferably, the height of the cross member relative to the supporting surface is variable.

A method of operating a knee exerciser to exercise the knee of a user while the user is on a supporting surface, the exerciser having a cross member with a rotatable outer surface, the cross member being located in an elevated position relative to the supporting surface. The exerciser is portable and has stabilizers thereon to maintain the exerciser in an upright position. The method comprises placing the exerciser on the supporting surface in an upright position, the user resting a back area of said knee on said outer surface while said user is on the supporting surface, adjusting the stabilizers to ensure that the exerciser will be maintained in an upright position, the user resting a back area of said knee on said outer surface and flexing said knee through a range of movement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a knee exerciser;

FIG. 2 is top view of the knee exerciser;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the knee exerciser;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the knee exerciser;

FIG. 5 is a partially exploded perspective view from a bottom of the knee exerciser; and

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of a cross member with a roll of paper towels providing an outer surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In FIG. 1, there is shown a knee exerciser 2 having a base 4 and two sides 6, 8. The base and two sides comprise a U-shaped support. The sides 6, 8 each have a plurality of openings 12 located vertically apart from one another therein. The openings oh one side 6 are sized and located to have a corresponding opening on another side 8. The cross member 10 is sized to slidably fit between an opening 12 on one side 6 and a corresponding opening 12 on the other side 8. The cross member 10 is supported substantially parallel to the base 4. The base rests upon a supporting surface 14.

Stabilizers 16, 18 are mounted on each side 6, 8 to rest on the supporting surface 14. The stabilizers are slidably mounted within a guide 20 along each side of the base 4 and are slidable independently of one another. Each stabilizer preferably has a footpad 22 mounted at either end thereof. The purpose of the stabilizers is to prevent the knee exerciser from falling frontward or rearward relative to the user while the exerciser is being used. The stabilizers are adjusted to maintain the exerciser in the most stable position for the particular circumstances in which the exerciser is used.

Usually, the supporting surface for the exerciser will be a bed and the user will be lying on their back with a back of a knee of the user (not shown) resting on the cross member 10. The stability of the exerciser will vary with the user and the rigidity of the supporting surface. Usually, when a user is exercising their left knee, the stabilizer 16 will be fully extended toward the user and the stabilizer 18 will be fully extended away from the user. When the right knee is exercised, the stabilizers will usually be moved to the opposite positions. The cross member 10 is sized so that it can easily be pulled longitudinally from one set of openings and reinstalled longitudinally into another set of corresponding openings in the two sides 6, 8. The cross member 10 preferably has a sleeve 24 of plastic tubing rotatably mounted on a cylindrical core between the two sides 6, 8. The sleeve 24 preferably has a diameter equal to approximately twice the diameter of the core. The sleeve 24 provides rotationalbility for the roll of paper towels or a fabric towel, as per the user's preference. The sleeve also supports the inner cardboard roll of the paper towels to prevent a breakdown. In addition, the sleeve 24 spreads the load from the user's leg across the core to reduce the likelihood of the core of the cross member breaking.

In FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 the same reference numerals are used as those used in FIG. 1 to describe those components that are identical. The sleeve 24 is more easily identifiable in FIGS. 2 and 3 than it is in FIG. 1. Also, it can be seen that the cross member 10 has a handle 26 at one end. One end of the cross member 10 is inserted into the handle 26. The rest of the cross member 10 has a cylindrical shape that is small enough to fit within the openings 12, but large enough to adequately support a leg of a user. Each opening on one side 6 as a corresponding opening on an opposite side 8.

In FIG. 5, the same reference numerals are used as those used in FIGS. 1 to 4 to describe those components that are identical. The cross member 10 and sleeve 24 are not shown in FIG. 5. It can be seen that the footpads 22 have a groove 28 therein and the footpads at one end of each S stabilizer 16, 18 are screwed into the stabilizer 16, 18 by a screw 30 so that these foot pads are detachable for shipping and storage purposes. When the two foot pads are removed, the stabilizers can be removed from the guides 20. The other two footpads are preferably affixed to the stabilizers by adhesive.

As shown in FIG. 6, a roll of paper towels 32 may be placed over the plastic sleeve 24. The advantage of using a roll of paper towels is that the towels cushion the core and are rotatable relative to the knee exerciser. Preferably, the core itself is rotatable relative to the openings but, when a roll of paper towels is used, the core itself is not required to be rotatable. When the user flexes his or her knee up and down, the roll of paper towels will rotate forward and backward as the knee flexes. Another advantage of using a roll of paper towels is that one or more sections of the paper towels at the end of the roll can be removed from time to time to provide a fresh surface for the user. When a plastic sleeve or roll of paper towels is mounted on the core, the cross member comprises the core, sleeve and the roll of paper towels. The same reference numerals are used in FIG. 6 as those used in FIGS. 1 to 5 to describe those components that are identical.

When a user has knee surgery and wishes to use the device, the user will usually install the cross member at the lowest possible height. As the user exercises his or her knee using the cross member and as the condition of the user's knee flexibility improves, the user will move the cross member upward in the openings to increase the height, giving a greater range of flexibility. As the knee continues to improve, the cross member continues to be adjusted upward. The knee exerciser can be used by a person who suffers a knee injury where surgery is not required. Further, the knee exerciser can be used to enable other users to exercise and strengthen their knees where no injury is suffered and no surgery has occurred. The user can also place one or more ankle weights on their ankle to increase the force required to move their ankle upward.

An advantage of the exerciser of the present invention is that the exerciser is portable, lightweight and can be easily stored. The exerciser is inexpensive and since it operates manually, the exerciser automatically moves at the rate of speed imposed on the exerciser by the user. Unlike an electrically operated knee exerciser, the exerciser does not exercise the knee at a faster rate than the user wishes to exercise the knee.

While the exerciser has been described with the cross member having a plastic sleeve thereon, the sleeve can be omitted by making the cross member rotatable within the openings in each side. The cross member can also be made stronger by increasing the diameter. The roll of paper towels or a fabric towel or other suitable outer surface can be used with or without a sleeve. The sleeve can be made of a material other than plastic, for example, metal. Preferably, the exerciser, except for the sleeve is made of wood, but various other materials will be suitable, for example, plastic. When wood is used, hardwood is preferred over softwood. Numerous variations, within the scope of the claims, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. 

1. An exerciser for exercising a knee of a user while said user is on a supporting surface, said exerciser comprising a cross member having a rotatable outer surface, said cross member being located in an elevated position relative to said supporting surface, said user resting a back area of said knee on said outer surface and flexing said knee through a range of movement, said exerciser being portable and having stabilizers thereon to maintain the exerciser in an upright position.
 2. A knee exerciser as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cross member is mounted in such a manner that a height of the cross member is adjustable.
 3. A knee exerciser as claimed in claim 2 wherein the exerciser has a U-shaped support with a base and two sides, said sides having a plurality of openings therein, said openings extending vertically along each side, each of said openings on one side being sized and located to have a corresponding opening on another side, said cross member being sized to slidably fit between an opening on one side and a corresponding opening on the other side, being a set of corresponding openings, said cross member being supported generally parallel to said base.
 4. A knee exerciser as claimed in claim 3 wherein a height of the cross member is adjusted by moving said cross member to a different set of corresponding openings.
 5. A knee exerciser as claimed in claim 4 wherein the base rests upon said supporting surface.
 6. A knee exerciser as claimed in claim 5 wherein there are two stabilizers, one being located at each end of said base, said stabilizers and extending outward from said base, each stabilizer being independently slidable relative to said base in two directions, either towards said user or away from said user as desired.
 7. A knee exerciser as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cross member comprises a cylindrical core with a roll of paper towels rotatably mounted on said core, said roll of paper towels providing said rotatable outer surface.
 8. A knee exerciser as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cross member has a cylindrical shape.
 9. A knee exerciser as claimed in claim 8 wherein said cross member comprises a core and a sleeve rotatably mounted on said core.
 10. A knee exerciser as claimed in claim 9 wherein said cross member comprises a roll of paper towels rotatably mounted on said sleeve.
 11. A knee exerciser as claim in claim 9 wherein said cross member comprises a fabric towel rolled around said sleeve.
 12. A knee exerciser as claimed in claim 8 wherein said cross member comprises a core with a fabric towel rolled around said core.
 13. A method of operating a knee exerciser to exercise the knee of a user while said user is on a supporting surface, said exerciser having a cross member with a rotatable outer surface, said cross member being located in an elevated position relative to said supporting surface, said exerciser being portable having stabilizers thereon to maintain the exerciser in an upright position, said method comprising placing said exerciser on said supporting surface in an upright position, said user resting a back area of said knee on said outer surface while said user is on said supporting surface, adjusting said stabilizers to ensure that said exerciser will be maintained in an upright position, said user resting a back area of said knee on said outer surface and flexing said knee through a range of movement.
 14. A method as claimed in claim 13 wherein said cross member is mounted in such a manner that a height of the cross member is adjustable, said method including the steps of adjusting the cross member to an appropriate height before resting a back of said knee on said outer surface.
 15. A method as claimed in claim 14 including the steps over several different exercise sessions of commencing with said cross member at a low height at a first session and progressively increasing said height as desired for subsequent sessions.
 16. A method as claimed in claim 15 including the step of installing a roll of paper towels to provide a rotatable outer surface on said cross member. 